2 South Salt Lake officers were legally justified in killing man armed with shotgun, DA says

SOUTH SALT LAKE, Utah — Two South Salt Lake police officers have been determined to be legally justified in shooting and killing a man armed with a rifle who fired at the officers.

Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill announced Friday that Sgt. Clayton Anderson and officer Zayne Ruth were justified when they shot 44-year-old Jebb Muir.

South Salt Lake police were called to assist with a civil situation on Sept. 26. Muir’s wife wanted to gather her belongings from their residence but was concerned that Muir was “in psychosis” and angry, and she wanted officers standing by in case something happened, according to Gill’s final report on the police shooting.

“Jebb was suffering with psychosis, suicidal ideation, and had previously barricaded himself in a house and prepared firearms during an encounter with police,” a statement released in December by the South Salt Lake Civilian Review Board states. “At that time of the standby, police did not observe significant signs of mental illness or violence.”

Muir’s wife was able to collect what she needed without incident. Several hours later, however, at about 11:10 p.m., Muir called 911 stating that he had accidentally shot his gun and feared a round may have gone into his neighbor’s house, the district attorney report states.

But Muir did not fully cooperate with dispatchers, and as the call continued, Muir said that “if SWAT was sent, he would kill them, and at another point threatened that if police tried to fight him, they would regret it,” according to the report.

Officers responded to the area and set up around Muir’s residence. They called him on his phone and tried to convince him to come outside.

“It’s not important where I’m at,” Muir told the officer who called him. “It doesn’t matter where I’m at, just know I’m unarmed and that I will reveal myself when you guys come.”

A few minutes later, police saw a man run across the street from Muir’s residence who they assumed was Muir.

At about 11:40 p.m., while police were still holding surveillance on Muir’s residence and discussing their next move, a neighbor called 911 and reported that there “was a man in his driveway with a rifle who just asked him if he wanted to die,” the report states. That man was determined to be Muir.

Anderson then saw a man he believed was Muir riding off on a bicycle while holding a rifle. Anderson told Ruth to get in his patrol car with him, handed Ruth his rifle, and the two drove toward the man, the report states.

In a written statement, Anderson said they spotted Muir about two blocks away. The officers turned the patrol car’s spotlight on him, got out of the vehicle and took cover by the car, unholstered their weapons and began yelling at Muir to show them his hands.

“A moment later, an exchange of gunfire erupted and I felt myself get struck in the side of the head with a projectile. I knew immediately that I was in grave danger,” Anderson said.

The sergeant said he dropped to the ground and fired one round at Muir from under his car door.

“I feared greatly that he had transitioned to a prone position to better engage and kill us. After I fired my round, I assessed the threat. There was no response from him, so I assumed it was effective,” he said, according to the statement.

The investigation into the shooting showed that Anderson fired once, Ruth fired 12 rounds from the rifle and Muir fired three rounds from a shotgun. An autopsy determined that Muir had been shot four times. The report also notes that his blood-alcohol content at the time was 0.129%.

Anderson was taken to a local hospital to be treated for a minor injury.

In December, South Salt Lake’s Civilian Review Board determined the officers’ actions “reasonable” and noted that the department’s own internal affairs investigation concurred with the board’s findings and that Chief Jack Carruth had already recommended both officers be allowed to return to full duty.